Proceeds from the sales events benefit Ugandan women and children.

Made from recycled paper, Ugandan women make colorful beads and turn them into unique bead jewelry. Single and multiple strand necklaces, a variety of bracelets, earrings and loose beads were available for purchase during the sales event in the Banks Student Life Center.

The beads are environmentally friendly, but more importantly help women and children a world away by providing them an income. The Bead for Life program creates bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. The women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful bead jewelry, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads. The beads become income, food, medicine, schools fees and hope for the Ugandan people.

The program’s goal is to help its members become independent and self-sustaining. All net profits from the jewelry sale at Misericordia University and others are invested in a holistic approach to poverty eradication. For more information about the program, please log on to www.BeadforLife.org or to purchase handmade jewelry log on to www.BeadforLifeStore.org.

For more information about Misericordia University, please log on to www.misericordia.edu or call (570) 674-6400.

Caption:

FOR PUBLICATION Beads for Life: Misericordia University students, from left, Michele Zapotocki of Hellertown, Pa.; Heather Arnold of Beaver, Pa., and Katie O'Hearn of Scranton, Pa., bought Beads for Life from MU student Kiersten Whitaker of Plainfield, N.J., and Erica Acosta, multicultural student outreach coordinator at Misericordia University, who both coordinated the event that benefits women in Uganda.